


From Here to There

by TVgirll1971



Category: Whiskey Cavalier (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27904537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVgirll1971/pseuds/TVgirll1971
Summary: Bits of backstory on each member of the team
Kudos: 3





	From Here to There

**Author's Note:**

> "Here to There" was written and recorded by Ronny Cox from his album Acoustic Electricity (2000)
> 
> Some of the items in this story are canon from the show itself. Some are from Inferno here at A03 and one item is from What Lies We Tell also from here at AO3. I've credited the authors in my end notes.
> 
> Other items are my own invention. Either from other fics I've written here or just something I've thought up right now.

_New York City in the pouring rain  
  
Long way from Santa Fe  
  
You can measure the miles but  
  
you can't change  
  
The reasons you came by this way  
  
So many faces in your memory  
  
All those places...just had to be  
  
You can't go back  
  
That's the price of the fare  
  
That gets you from here to there _

William Stoddard Chase was born to Richard and Lori Chase. He grew up in Indiana with his older brother, Kevin, and older sister, Sophie. The Chase household was like a Norman Rockwell painting. Dad worked at Grissom Air Force base as a aircraft mechanic. Mom was an elementary school teacher. The Chase kids played with the neighborhood kids. It was a pretty care-free existence. That was until Kevin joined the military and was killed in the line of duty. That was hard. Will could see how devastated his parents were but they pushed through it. They continued to encourage Will and Sophie to go out with their friends, the Christmas decorations went up as they had before and traditions continued to be followed. It was sad but Rich and Lori were determined to carry on for the sake of their two other kids.

Will knew out of high school that he wanted to join the FBI. He didn't know why--no one in his family was in FBII, military yes, not law enforcement. Maybe it was the movies he used to like to watch? He had no sold reason other than it felt right. Of course, joining the FBI meant graduating college. What should he major in? To the surprise of his friends who decided to try Engineering, Education or business., Will majored Art History with a minor in Classical Literature. After all, he always loved art class in high school and English was his favorite subject. 

After earning his masters degree, Will was accepted into Quantico where he quickly became friends with his roommate, Ray. Ray was great to hang around with. He could sometimes be needy but Will had to admit he could be like that too. He also made another great friend, he BEST friend, in Susan. Like Ray and Will, Susan was friendly and optimistic (though not quite as much as Ray). 

Will worked as an agent for the FBI for one year when tragedy hit--9/11. Angered and determined to make a difference like Kevin had, Will quite the FBI and joined the Marines. After a few tours in Iraq, Will returned to the FBI and ultimately transferred to Rome with his old roommate--Ray.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ __

Francesca "Frankie" Trowbridge, was born and raised in Connecticut. Her father, Charlie, played trumpet for the New York Philharmonic and her mother, Carol, was an English Lit professor. Frankie had a pretty carefree existence. She loved listening to music with her Dad, shopping with Mom, going to swim meets, going to parties with her friends. Life was perfect. Until it wasn't.

Her junior year, Frankie begged her parents to let her do a a year of study abroad in Ireland as part of a student exchange program. Since Frankie's mom went to college in Ireland, Frankie grew up hearing about how beautiful Europe was. So, Frankie wanted to see for herself. Being the progressives they were, the Trowbridges had no problem letting their daughter study abroad. After all, she was a smart girl with a good head on her shoulders.

Frankie loved her year abroad. The family she stayed with--the O'Malley's---were great. They had a daughter Frankie's age and the family would bike around Europe whenever they could. Frankie loved the experience so much that she asked her parents if she could spend her Senior year abroad as well. They agreed and made plans to fly out to see Frankie. 

Tragically, they never got there as their airplane went down in a terrorist attack. Numb, Frankie was forced to leave Ireland and go live with her mother's best friend, Kelly. Kelly encouraged Frankie to push through grief since life did have to go on. She encouraged Frankie to join the swim team and go back to being the girl she was before. Frankie knew that wasn't possible. She was hurt and afraid but she did take comfort in Kelly--specifically in Kelly's dedication to her job. Kelly had no personal attachments. She wasn't married, she barely went out, with the exceptions of Frankie's late mother she apparently didn't have any friends and she seemed to like it that way. Here was a woman who was perfectly fine being on her own. Having just lost the two people she loved the most, Frankie wondered if that wasn't preferable.

At Kelly's insistence, Frankie went to college but her heart wasn't really in it. She tried though and despite the pain over losing her parents, she did manage to find love with a college boy. The boy, David, was tall, dark, handsome with piercing green eyes and he was so exciting. Not afraid to try anything, David loved to live on the edge. Rules? He didn't believe in rules They were meant to be broken! Frankie couldn't help but be excited by this boy who loved to take risks And he did! He was the one who taught her to pick locks. Though she knew it was wrong, Frankie couldn't' deny the adrenaline rush breaking into houses or cars gave her. Yes, it was illegal but so what? No one was hurt.

Until David was. David's careless disregard for the rules caused him to get in bad with the wrong person. An avid gambler, David owed money to a dangerous loan shark. Desperate to pay the loan shark, David decided to act as a drug mule. Frankie tried to talk him out of it. She knew it was wrong and dangerous. Unfortunately, David made a serious mistake and was killed. 

Reeling from the deaths of not only her parents, but now the man she loved, Frankie dropped out of college. Numb again with no clue what she wanted to do with her life, she just traveled. It didn't take long for her to get in with some bad people. But she didn't care---why should she? She already had the perfect, normal life and what did that get her? Dead parents and a dead boyfriend. 

So, Frankie ran around lost. Town to town, job to job, man to man. She had other boyfriends die which seemed to confirm her belief that it was preferable to be alone because people are going to die on you anyway. Ultimately, Frankie fell in with a group of assassins after meeting one very sexy Italian named Marco. Marco taught Frankie everything to know about cold blooded murder. Teenaged Frankie would've been horrified but this Frankie--hardened by years of loss and hardship, relished the opportunity.

That is until she met Jai Datta. Frankie was hired to kill Jai whose job was to develop weapons for the CIA. Frankie didn't know why her employer wanted Jai dead. She really didn't care--a job was a job. So, Frankie studied up on Jai and made her movie by following him. She assumed he was an easy mark-the man was a techie for goodness sake. Frankie was wrong. Jai may have looked like a little tech guy but he was smart, fast and he instantly subdued her. 

Under arrest, Frankie was offered a deal. Apparently, Jai had gotten curious about this woman who almost got the jump on him. After reading her file, Jai went to his superiors and convinced them that someone with Frankie's skills could prove useful in the Agency. Frankie was then offered a deal--jail or working with the CIA under Jai's watchful eye. No dummy, Frankie took the second option. Working for the CIA was better than prison. Heck, anything was.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ __

Susan Suarez was born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents--Silvio and Lucia. The third of six girls, Susan found herself lost. Her older sisters didn't want her hanging around; after all she was a baby. Susan's younger sisters weren't interested in her either. The twins stayed together and Isabel, the baby, gravitated towards their mother. So, stuck in the middle, Susan was often left alone with her books. That didn't make her mother very happy at all. An old fashioned woman, Lucia Suarez had strong opinions about how a house should be kept up. Of course, she wanted her daughters to have careers--she wasn't totally backward. However, that didn't mean that the house should be neglected. A woman should be able to work and still cook decent meals and clean in a respectable fashion. Of the six girls, Susan was the worst at cleaning. Really, it was because her mother was too fussy. Did it really matter if the bedsheets are not pleated? Does one really have to dust every single week? The only one who really understood Susan was her father. She was Daddy's little girl. 

While in college, studying Psychology, Susan began dating Ben Sampson. Very tall, with beautiful blue eyes and a strong chin, Ben was exactly the type of man Susan found attractive. Sure he didn't seem quite as good humored as her father but Ben was smart, charming, conscientious, and considerate. He seemed to have it all. After college, Ben went to law school while Susan got her master's. After that, Ben got a job in the DA's office while Susan went off to Quantico. Interested in becoming a profiler, Susan flourished in Quantico--often getting top marks. It was also there that she met her best friend--Will Chase. 

After graduating Quantico, Susan married Ben and they were happy for a while. Ben was a great guy. He was smart, successful, very personable. If there was just one complaint Susan had it was that Ben complained a lot. He wasn't one of those annoying people who do nothing but complain, but that was his favorite topic of conversation when he got home from work. "You won't believe what happened to me today." or "You won't believe what so and so did today." Meanwhile, after close to ten years on the job, Susan decided that she wanted to do something else. She enjoyed profiling but for years she'd heard Will's stories about his undercover work and decided she really wanted to try that. Being out in the field, using her psychology degree while inhabiting another identity--it sounded exciting. So, despite Ben's misgivings, she transferred. Susan loved it; Ben not so much. He couldn't understand why she'd want to put herself in situations that could be dangerous--not when she could stay perfectly safe behind the desk profiling. So, the complaining got worse because this time he was complaining about Susan's career choice. As time went on, the pair decided that it was time to end things.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ __

Edgar "Eddie" Standish was born in Yonkers to Edgar and Dolores Standish. Eddie's seemingly perfect childhood was uprooted at the age of 6 when his parents told him they were getting a divorce. His parents assured him that they both loved him and that nothing would change--it's just that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't be living in the same house. Eddie believed them at first until the reality of the situation kicked in. Things weren't the same. How are they the same with him only seeing his dad two days every week? Or his dad sitting clear across from his mom while they watched his little league game? And of course, holidays weren't the same. Instead of his dad taking him trick or treating--it was his mom. Not only that but Thanksgiving and Christmas were split up. Half with Mom, half with Dad. How the heck was that the same?

You know what else wasn't the same? His Daddy's new wife. Delores was totally disgusted with the fact that her ex-husband had gotten married a little over a year after the divorce. Though she didn't try to poison the boy against his father, she couldn't help but complain every once and a while about Eddie's father and "that woman." Soon, Standish found himself caught in the middle. He loved spending time with his dad. They did such great things together. However, when Eddie would tell his mom about it, his mom would get this hurt look on her face and mutter "Must be nice to be the fun parent." Eddie made the mistake of telling his daddy that once and his daddy went off on a tirade about if Eddie's mama is a stick in the mud it's her own darn fault. She didn't get to blame him for her shortcomings! After that, Eddie decided it was best not to talk to his parents about one another.

He also decided that he better be careful. One false move and his mom might not let him see his Daddy again. Eddie figured it was probably his fault they got divorced anyway. He must've made his Daddy mad and that's why he left. Either that or Mommy got mad and made Daddy leave. Either way, Eddie must've done something wrong. So, his best shot at happiness was to make sure that everything he did met with their approval.

As a teenager, Eddie decided that he didn't want to be called Eddie anymore. That was a kid's name and he was on the verge of becoming a man! However, he didn't really want to be called Edgar either. That's an old man's name! So, Eddie started asking people to call him Standish since that was a much cooler name than his first. And that's what mattered, right? Being cool; because being cool meant that people would accept you and like you. As long as they liked you, they'd stick around.

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ __

Jai Data was born in India to Guptri a doctor, and Prya, a chef. When Jai was five, he and his parents emigrated to America. Jai's first year of school was hard. He looked different than the other kids and thanks to his accent--he sounded different too. Jai learned early on that people are just too unpredictable. You think they're nice and friendly but then they turn out to be bullies who call you names and make fun of you. In a year's time, Jai lost his accent but he was still known as "The Indian kid." It didn't take long for Jai to realize that toys were better than people. Toys and gadgets, if they worked properly, did what they were supposed to. People were too unpredictable--they'd say one thing and do another. Jai decided it was safest just to not engage. So to protect himself from being made fun of as "The Indian kid", Jai kept to himself. His extreme shyness was interpreted by all of his teachers as an inability to connect.

As Jai got older, he decided that he was definitely correct about people. They really were too unpredictable. You like a girl, ask her to the prom, she says yes and then decides to dump you for another guy. Or you have clowns you'll invite you to a party and then send you to the wrong address. No, people were trouble. Now, electronics--they were great. Take a radio, do some creative wiring and it works even better than before! You have a stock car, do some tinkering, bam!, it's faster than before. It didn't take him long to figure out that gadgets were just so much easier to handle than people.

After getting dual degrees in Chemistry and Electrical Enjoining, Jai was recruited into the CIA's Research and Development section. Fascinated with the work, Jai quickly earned a reputation as one of the best weapons developers out there. Things were going great--until they didn't. He thought he double checked everything. He thought he was prepared for every possible contingency. Unfortunately, he must not have because an entire CIA team was killed. Among them was a female agent that Jai really liked. She probably didn't know he existed. At least that's what he told himself. Sure, she smiled at him and made conversation every time she saw him but that didn't mean anything. A woman like that--she was gorgeous--she wouldn't be interested in him, he scoffed. Of course, now he'd never know because she was dead. Jai swore he wouldn't let something like that happen again. He'd be even more diligent than before. He'd go beyond diligent. He would make certain that he had total control over each mission. He'd make sure that he knew exactly what was going on. 

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ __

Raymond Douglas Prince was born in Lexington, Kentucky to Douglas and Mary Prince. Douglas, an FBI agent, was a stern father who pushed his children to be the best. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than his kids succeeding. Unfortunately, Ray didn't give his father very much pleasure. If anything, his father seemed to harp on him every day. "You can't expect things just to come to you. You have to do the work." his father would say. Trouble was, Ray didn't want to. Studying and doing homework was just so BORING! It much more fun to play with his friends. Ray's older sister, Sandy, and his older brother, Matt, tried to help Ray with his homework. They tried to convince him that if he just sat still and worked at it, he'd get. Trouble was, Ray didn't really care if he got it or not. He just didn't want to study. He just didn't feel like it. 

Ray's poor performance in school and his laid back attitude meant that he was a constant disappointment to his father. Douglas Prince made no secret of that. Ray's father reacted with disgust to every mistake Ray made. After all, he only made those mistakes because he was careless and had no sense of self-discipline. The few times that Ray had really excelled in something, he father didn't seem to care as much. "Two touchdowns in one game. Can't exactly make a career out that, can you?" A part of Ray really did want his father's approval. He wouldn't loved to have gotten one of those smiles his brother and sisters got when they did something excellent. However, it just wasn't something Ray wanted to work very hard for.

As hard and demanding as Douglas Prince was, Mary was the opposite. A high school guidance counselor, Mary encouraged her children without pushing them. She especially seemed to have a soft spot for Ray but everyone knew the reason why. Ray needed her the most. After all, he was the one on the receiving end of his father's anger practically all the time. So, Mary spoiled Ray to let him know that he was loved no matter what. She made it a point to defend Ray to his father and assured Ray that, despite what his father said, there was nothing wrong with his sunny disposition. 

When Ray was a teenager, he told his parents what he wanted to be when he got older. He wanted to join the FBI. Ray's father scoffed at that. Being an agent took discipline and focus and told Ray he wouldn't last a minute there. However, Ray was insistent that that's what he wanted to do. Ray's mother encouraged Ray but pointed out that it wasn't going to be easy. If he wanted it, he was going to have to work hard. 

Despite getting thrown out of two private schools due to low grades, Ray was accepted into the University of Kentucky where he majored in public relations. By the time Ray graduated, his father had been appointed Deputy Director of the FBI. Though Ray's father still wasn't happy with the thought of Ray trying to join, a few of Douglas's friends saw potential in Ray--after all, they'd seen him play with his younger sister--the boy was up for anything and had sharp improvising skills. So, they provided letters of recommendation to Quantico.

Surprisingly, Ray got in! Or maybe it wasn't all that surprising. Everyone on the staff knew that Ray was the Deputy Director's son and the way most seemed to tiptoe around him, it was clear that they didn't want to upset the Deputy Director by ousting Ray. Though some instructors, mainly Agent Wiseman, were hard on Ray. most of them gave him a pass because *they* weren't going to be the one to flunk out the Deputy Director's son.

That's not to say that Ray was totally out of his element. He was excelled at interrogation and seemed to be a natural when it came to marksmanship and field work. He just floundered when it came to written tests. Ray's saving grace was his roommate and best friend--Will Chase. Ray and Will immediately hit if off. Will kind of reminded Ray of his father--he had that same straight-arrow lawman quality. Except Will was friendly, more optimistic and more understanding. Not only was Will a great guy who was great to hang around with--he was also smart! So, when Ray needed some help getting through the difficult parts of training (namely tests!) Ray would take advantage and cheat off Will. He knew it was wrong but he was so desperate to become an agent! He knew he'd be a good one if given the chance. Maybe he wouldn't be the smartest but he knew he could do the work.

Fortunately, Ray was able to squeak through and fulfilled his dream of being an agent. It wasn't easy at first. There were still lots of people in the Bureau who looked down on him because they knew he only passed because of who his father was. While others just kissed Ray's ass in an effort to get in good with the Deputy Director. Luckily, there was one person who didn't treat Ray any differently and that was Ray's first partner--Sam Cook. To Sam, Ray was just another probie and he taught Ray everything he needed to know about being an agent. 

After a few years with Sam, Ray decided he wanted a change and transferred to Counter Intelligence with his new partner and best friend--Will. At this point, Will had just returned to the FBI after a stint in the Marines so it was Ray's turn to sort of show Will the ropes. Ray and Will were a great team in Europe. It was in Europe where Ray would fall in love with a fellow agent named Joanne. After a whirlwind courtship, the pair married and despite them being apart for weeks at a time due to missions, were happily married. It wasn't easy but they made an effort to make it work. Tragically, Joanne was killed on a mission on their sixth wedding anniversary. Joanne's death devastated Ray so much that he closed himself off. The normally sociable agent didn't talk to anyone unless it was work related. He did the job and that was it. Luckily, Will was there for him and did his best to get Ray out of his funk. It worked. As Will and Ray spent more time together, Ray started returning to the happy, sociable person he was before.

**Author's Note:**

> The names of Will's parents are canon. However, Will’s sister being named Sophie came from Inferno by Fiery Tribune. Will's mother being a teacher and his father having been in the military came from Inferno as well.
> 
> The occupations of Frankie’s parents was taken from Inferno by Fiery Tribune
> 
> Frankie's year of study abroad being in Ireland was taken from by the Lies We Tell by nickell47
> 
> Standish’s parents divorcing when he was young came from Inferno by Fiery Tribune
> 
> David Hemingson, the creator of Whiskey Cavalier, stated on Twitter that Standish’s father was also named Edgar. Standish's mother's name is my invention.
> 
> Jai's parents name, him coming to US at 5 years of age and his educational degrees are canon
> 
> Nothing about Ray's backstory is canon. With the exception of him cheating off Will at Quantico, everything is my invention. Except for the fact that he was thrown out of two private schools--they came from Inferno by Fiery Tribune.
> 
> David Hemisngson mentioned on Twitter that Ray didn’t have a degree. However, as someone else pointed out—you can’t be an agent without having a Bachelor’s degree. So, my guess is Ray went to a state college (University of KY) but calls it a community college since it’s near where he used to live.
> 
> Ray being married before was in invention of mine. It came to me during episode 7 when Ray told Susan that a relationship between spies can work; it just takes some effort. I know he said his new buddy told him that and that buddy was hitting on him. But it still seemed like a strange thing to say. I think Ray was speaking from personal experience.


End file.
